The present invention relates generally to beam limiting devices in radiation therapy devices and more particularly to providing a variety of beam limiting devices on such devices.
Beam limiting devices such as, third party mini-multileaf collimator (MMLC) are typically utilized as accessories with linear accelerators for radiotherapy. These MMLCs are used primarily for radiosurgery and conformal radiotherapy. As their name implies, mini-multileaf collimators provide finer resolution for matching a treatment area shape than standard multileaf collimators, e.g., 0.5 cm resolution rather than 1.0 cm resolution. By providing this finer resolution, more precision is achieved for certain treatment areas, such as the brain. Even with a finer resolution, accurate collimator positioning remains vital for ensuring that only the desired treatment area is subjected to radiation.
Accordingly, what is needed is a system and method for supporting third party beam limiting devices that ensures accuracy for positioning of the beam limiting device. The present invention addresses such a need.
The present invention provides method and system aspects for verifying an accessory beam limiting device position for a radiotherapy treatment session. Included in a system aspect is a radiotherapy treatment device, the radiotherapy treatment device including an accessory holder. A beam limiting device for establishing a treatment area, the beam limiting device held in the accessory holder, is also included, along with a first controller for controlling the radiotherapy device and performing a treatment plan. A second controller positions the beam limiting device according to the treatment plan, wherein performance of the treatment plan by the first controller depends on provision of an accessory code to the first controller. The accessory code includes a resistor-pair combination value.
Through the present invention, a code, representing values for a resistor-pair combination, is provided for third party beam limiting devices, particularly MMLCs. Improper positioning of the MMLCs results in a code that represents a xe2x80x98not-readyxe2x80x99 condition for the MMLCs and stalls the performance of the treatment session. Thus, proper positioning of the accessory beam limiting device is ensured in a straightforward and efficient manner before radiation is delivered. These and other advantages of the present invention will be more fully understood in conjunction with the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.